Liquid cleansing compositions that are contained in non-gas type foam dispensing containers such as pump foamers and dispensed from the container as foam at the time of use are known. This type of cleansing composition is mixed with air when passing through a porous membrane provided in the container to be dispensed as foam, and various improvements have been made in order to obtain a creamy foam quality and prevent clogging of the porous membrane.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes that a blend of (a) a short-chain acyl taurine salt, (b) an amphoteric surfactant, and (c) a cationized starch does not clog the container, stably provides a creamy foam quality even at low temperatures, and also has conditioning effects. However, the cleansing composition of Patent Document 1 does not contain a higher fatty acid salt as an anionic surfactant.
On the other hand, when including a higher fatty acid salt as an anionic surfactant, at least 5 wt %, preferably at least 8 wt % of the surfactant is conventionally added in order to obtain a fine, creamy foam quality. However, particularly when adding a long-chain higher fatty acid salt with more than 12 carbon atoms, there was a problem in that precipitation would occur at low temperatures.
Patent Document 2 describes that by using an alkanolamine salt as the higher fatty acid salt, and adding it in combination with a polyoxyethylene alkyl phosphoric acid ester salt, 1 to 7 wt % of a monohydric alcohol, and 3 to 20 wt % of a polyhydric alcohol, a fine foam quality and excellent foam retention are achieved.
Patent Document 3 describes a cleansing composition wherein the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl group in the higher fatty acid salt is adjusted to a specific proportion, and it is combined with an amphoteric or semi-polar surfactant and a compound having an acid dissociation constant of 8.0 to 11.0 (specifically an amine compound such as monoethanolamine), capable of suppressing the generation of precipitates even when the pH of the cleansing composition decreases over time, thereby preventing dogging of pump foamer containers.
However, conventional pump foamer cleansers such as those described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 tend to place importance on improvement of foam quality, and even if they have improved low-temperature stability, they still have the problem of inadequate rinsability.